The Chapter With an Excellent Chapter Title

Liane paled. This was the end. All her efforts had been for naught because somehow Claire already knew the truth. She’d known the whole time and had just been toying with her. She was going to reveal it to the System here and now. Then would watch with satisfaction as the System banished her to a desert island, where she would never see Claire again and would die even more alone than the first time.

Tears clouded her vision. “If it means never seeing you again, I wouldn’t need anything.”

Claire’s jaw dropped. She sat frozen like a statue.

“At least I got to see you before the System sends me away,” Liane choked out before her tears spilled over.

“Wha— wait! Oh, don’t cry. I’m not actually going to strand you on an island. It’s just a game. A game from— from an old book about how to make friends.” Claire face was as bright as Lian’s was pale. “You’re the first person I’ve met, so I was hoping we could be friends. I was just trying to ‘break the ice’ as the book called it.”

Liane could hardly believe what she was hearing. She wiped her face and couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief.

“That’s what you meant. I’m so stupid,” Liane laughed.

Claire looked instantly relieved, and Liane felt the same.

“I’m sorry again. First my dogs knock you off the porch, then I scare you with that silly question. Maybe I’m not cut out to have friends,” Claire said.

“No, that was just me being clumsy and stupid. You’re great. I mean, you seem great. Let’s be friends. I would like that.”

Claire’s radiant smile returned, brighter than the sun. “Okay! I mean, yes, I would like that too. Nice to have you as a friend. But I just have to ask one thing. Not another question from the book! Something else.”

“Go ahead. I promise I won't freak out this time.”

“Okay, so don’t take this the wrong way. I just want to be sure. You are human, right?”

Liane chuckled, “Yes, I’m human.”

“I knew it! At first, I thought, ‘Oh, what a clumsy shell, falling off the porch’ but then you didn’t get up, and you started crying, and your hand was soft and warm. I just knew you were human! You’re the first human I’ve met, other than my dad, I guess. Okay, so I’ve been wondering, why are you dressed like a delivery drone? Is it a costume or do you actually have a delivery for me?” Claire asked.

“Yes, actually, I do,” Liane said.

She checked her pockets, then rechecked her pockets. She stood and checked her chair, then got on all fours to check the floor, but the box was nowhere to be found.

“Or maybe I don’t,” Liane amended, “Consarn it! Where is it?”

“Consarn it?” Claire repeated.

“Nothing!” Liane reminded herself not to talk like an old man. “It seems I might have lost your package. Oh! Maybe I dropped it when I fell!”

Liane jumped up and was about to run outside when Claire stopped her.

“Wait! Is that it?” she asked, pointing above Liane’s head.

Liane followed her finger to CP1. The little drone looked from Liane to Claire and back. It was holding the box without saying a word.

“CP1, you had that this whole time?”

“Yes,” CP1 said.

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“You did not ask.”

Liane’s jaw tensed. “Okay, never mind. Just give it to her, please.”

CP1 drifted to Claire, but she stuck her hands up, refusing to accept the package.

“I know it’s silly, but do you think you could give it to me? I’ve received lots of deliveries from drones, but never from another human.”

A chance to spoil her daughter again? Liane was glad to accept. “Sure, why not. CP1, the package, please.”

The drone drifted back to Liane, dropped the small box to her, and she handed it to Claire. She held the cardboard box like a precious gem, her smile dazzling.

“I’ll treasure it,” Claire said.

“I think you're supposed to open it,” Liane chuckled.

Claire pocketed the box. “Later. Right now, I want to know more about you. It’s so interesting that you’re delivering packages. How long have you been doing that? And what made you start?”

So I could see you, she thought, but stopped short saying.

“I only started recently,” Liane said as she discreetly reopened Aurelia's message containing a cover story for her. From the message, she read, “I recently got interested in ancient cultures and how people lived back then, so I asked Aurelia if I could try having a job to see what it was like. She arranged for me to try working as a package delivery drone.”

Liane dismissed the message, hoping she had sounded natural. A worry that vanished when she saw Claire’s eye’s sparkling.

“I love ancient cultures too! Did you see my house? It’s called a farmhouse. It’s Brink Age style. I read once that people back then only made square buildings. Isn’t that strange? I think it’s fascinating. What else do you like about ancient cultures?”

“Oh, um… how they grew plants and stuff,” Liane said.

“Farming! Yes! You’re going to love this. Follow me.”

Claire sprang up from her chair and charged out the backdoor. Her two dogs ran after her, followed by Liane and CP1.

As she stepped onto the back porch, Liane was frozen in place. A bustling farm straight out of the two thousands spread out before her. Drones drifted around vibrant garden boxes overflowing with vegetables. A group of shells harvested fruit from a rainbow orchard. Cows, goats, sheep, and pigs wandered their pens, observed from above by drones. A shell rumbled past on an antique tractor, and a big red barn stood watch over it all.

But as astounding as the living reenactment was, what really made her breath catch was beyond the farm.

Dominating the landscape, it was like different environments from across the planet had been cut from the Earth and transported here. Each one was a distinct habitat, and each one was butting up against its neighbors, kept apart by invisible barriers. In one section, ice and snow piled high, but couldn’t touch the forest of spruce trees a mere hair’s width away. In another section, sand whipped itself into a mini cyclone, only to dissipate as it tried to invade the grassy savanna next door.

Twelve regions in all, and Liane’s heart skipped a beat at the prospect of seeing each one up close and personal.